Groundbreaking at FAU Heralds
New Classroom and Movie Theater Building

BOCA RATON, FL (June 18, 2009) - Florida Atlantic
University recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new
classroom and office building on the Boca Raton campus that also
will house a movie complex to be operated by cutting-edge Living
Room Theaters, Inc. (LRT). The 73,000-square-foot building is
planned to meet U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification and is
scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2010.

The
$19 million dollar facility will house 14 classrooms, conference
rooms and office space for the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts
and Letters. It will be anchored by a three-story atrium that
is designed as a “main street” for the building, and
one wing of the first floor will house a
state-of-the-art all-digital
movie complex with four separate theaters and a
café. These all-digital theaters offer significant environmental advantages by eliminating
the use of celluloid prints. This is the first and only all-digital
theater on a university campus.

“This
new movie complex will further enhance the Dorothy F. Schmidt
College of Arts and Letters standing as a center for culture and
the arts,” said Manjunath Pendakur, dean of the Dorothy F.
Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. “During the day, the
theaters will be used by FAU’s film study program in the
School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, allowing students
to study film
in a true cinema setting with
outstanding picture and sound quality, and on evenings and
weekends, the theaters will be used by LRT for community
screenings of foreign, classic and independent
films.”

The complex will feature
films that are rarely shown in mainstream, high volume
theaters, and it will emphasize new releases from around the
world. Moviegoers will be able to relax in the
comfortable seating of the 50-person theaters while enjoying
food and beverages purchased at the LRT café. The
café will offer a wide range of food, and a
sophisticated selection of beer and wine.

“We are happy to be able
to offer an alternative to what other theaters offer,”
said Ernesto Rimoch, founder of Living Room Theaters. “We
will be able to show international films that will enhance
learning and understanding.”

The theater portion of the
building is funded by a donation of $1.5 million from LRT
and matching funds from the State of Florida’s Alec P.
Courtelis Capital Facility Enhancement Challenge Grant Program,
which doubles the gift to $3 million.

The architect for the building
is Astorino, and the construction firm is Turner Construction.

For more information about
FAU’s School of Communication and Multimedia Studies,
call 561-297-3850.